Service entrance head



June 18, 1968 D. A. DEARLE SERVICE ENTRANCE HEAD Filed Oct. 14,- 1965 INVENTOR DENIS A. DEARLE ,wwdfzyzu ATTQRNEYS ABSTRACT mtisisctostm wall 18 preferably slants outwardly from the bottom 17 of thebase 14. f 4 v The bottom 17 of thebase issuitably apertured at 28 for admitting electrical conductor or cable, not shown.

The front wall 18 is provided 'with a plurality of slots 30 extending downward in parallel adjacent relation from its 'top edge through which individual conductors, not

A service'entrance head assembly including 'a base .1

member and a 'domedroof member releasably-secnred in snap-locking relation, the base member having a wall portion defining an open top and including at least one opening in the wall portion,- the roof member having downwardly facing shoulders formed-on its interior and positively seated on upper'edges of the base member and defininga conductor receiving chamber disposed above the upper edges of the base, and the roof member further including an extension integrally formed 'thereon and projecting substantially beyond and below the upper edges of thebasemember in overhanging relation to the opening in its wall portion.

A primary object of the inventionis-to provide an improved service entrance head that is readily assembled and of lightweight rugged construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide an entrance head assembly including an improved arrangement for mounting the entrance head and'for supporting an electrical cable. I H

A further object of the invention is to provide an entrance head assembly of the type-described having a minimum number of parts that are economical to manufacture, easy to assemble and which are capable of providing long dependable service.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly broken away and partly it in section, of an entrance head and bracket embodying the invention, in assembled relation;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the entrance head;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the entrance head;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view, partly broken away, of entrance head;

FIG. 5 is a transverse section view of the entrance head with its parts disassembled; and

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of the bracket.

Referring in detail to the drawing, a preferred embodiment of an entrance head assembly of this invention is illustrated as generally comprising a service entrance head 10 and a bracket 12 for the entrance head. The entrance head 10 includes a hollow lower member or base 14 having an open top and an upper member or roof 16 for enclosing the top of the base. Both the base 14 and its roof 16 are preferably formed of a high strength nonconductive material such as rigid polyvinyl chloride.

Extending upwardly from the bottom 17 of the base are front and rear walls 18 and 20 which are interconnected by a pair of side walls 22 and 24. The side walls 22, 24 diverge slightly from the bottom 17, and the front the shown, may be fed froni'the entrance head with the cable end being protectively enclosed'the'rein. A rib 31' 'is desirably provided for reinforcing an intermediate front wall portion 32 between the slots 30'.

Toprovide maximum protection for the cable end, the roof 16 is formed with adome-likle cover portion 34 overlying the top of the base 14 and a'depending skirt portion 36 extending around the bottom of the cover portion. More specifically, the cover portion 34 slopes downwardly from a raised peakv37 above the apertured bottom 17 of the base to a forward end 38 which projects substantially beyond thejfront wall 18 so as to overhang the slots 30. The skirt portion 36 overlaps the upper part of the rear wall 20 as well as the side walls 22, 24 and is shown as having a front cutout 39 to accommodate the emerging conductors.

The roof 16 is dimensionedto tightly fit over the top of the base 14 and, to assure easy foolproof assembly in correctly positioning the roof 16 on the base 14, downwardly facing shoulders 40 (FIG. 4) are formed around theinside of the roof 16 at the juncture between the cover andskirtportions 34 and 36 for engaging the top edges of the rear and side walls of the base 14. Extending across the inside surface of the cover portion 34 is a depending rib 42 forming a shoulder 44 for seating the roof 16 intermediate its ends on the top edge of the front wall 18, the intermediate front wall portion 32 of the base likewise being engageable with the shoulder 44. To prevent the roof from shifting, a pair of abutments 46 and 48 are formed on the inside surface of the forward end 38 on opposite sides of the roof 16 for engaging the lateral extremes of the front -wall 18.

The skirt portion 36 is provided with a pair of apertures 50 and 52, respectively, on opposite sides of the roof for receiving a pair of external cars 54 and 56 projecting from the side walls 22 and 24 adjacent the top of the base 14. In the preferred embodiment, the upper outer edge of the cars 54, 56 are chamfered whereby semi-rigid tabs 58 and 60, extending across the bottom of the apertures 50 and 52, may be pressed down to slide over the cars 54, 56. The tabs 58, 60 are sufficiently resilient to permit a slight deformation before snapping into place below the ears to lock the roof 16 in position on the base 14.

By virtue of the described structure, the entrance head 10 provides for a snap-locking attachment wherein the parts are properly fitted in a stable assembly even though they are treated roughly in the installation of the fitting. It can be seen that the chances of moisture, e.g., traveling down the conductors to collect in and erode the cable end are effectively minimized.

Referring now to the rear wall 20 of the entrance head 10, an external flange 62 is integrally formed thereon and extends upward from the bottom 17 of the base 14. A groove 64 extends from top-to-bottom in each side edge of the flange 62 providing the latter with a uniform T-shaped cross section (FIG. 4).

The bracket 12 has an elongated configuration, formed preferably of sheet metal, suitably apertured at 66 in its top portion so as to be adapted to be secured to a support structure, not shown. Intermediate its top and bottom portions, the bracket 12 is offset by a pair of steps 70 and 72 extending in parallel relation across the bracket. The middle portion of the upper step 70 is relieved by a transverse slot 74, and a longitudinal slot 76 is directed downward therefrom axially of the bracket through the lower step 72 to form a T-shaped opening in the bracket 12.

Upon securing the bracket 12 in a desired position, the entrance head 10 is mounted simply by sliding its flange 62 into the T-shaped opening to bottom the lower rear edge of the base 14 against the lower step 72 of the bracket. Portions of the bracket on opposite sides of its longitudinal slot 76 between the steps 70 and 72 are thus retained within the grooves 64 of the flange 62. To assure that the entrance head 10 will be firmly secured on the bracket 12, ribs 78 are formed to project forwardly from the front face of the bracket adjacent opposite sides of its longitudinal slot 76 to engage the rear wall 20 of the entrance head-10 and to take up any play of the bracket within the grooves 64.

Below the lower step 72, a U-shaped cable strap 80 is screw mounted across the bottom portion of the bracket. When the cable strap 80 is tightened down to secure an electrical cable in position on the bracket 12, the bracket in conjunction with its cable strap serves to transmit the weight of the cable to a support structure and thus to relieve the entrance head 10 from supporting the vertical load of the cable.

It will be evident from the above description that the entrance head of this invention is quick and easy to assemble by snap-locking its parts into engagement. The snap-locking roof facilitates installation and effectively protects a cable end against corrosive elements settling out of the atmosphere as well as against sleet, driving rains and the like. Finally, the structure provides a durable, stable assembly, and the few parts required are easily manufactured at lost cost.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure above described will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A two-piece service entrance head assembly comprising a base member having a bottom portion and a surrounding wall portion extending upwardly therefrom, the base member having a plurality of openings for a conductor including at least one opening in its wall portion, the wall portion having upper edges defining an open top in the base member, and a roof member including a cover portion of dome-like configuration and a peripheral ski-rt portion depending therefrom, the cover and skirt portions having a juncture therebetween in an intermediate plane of the roof member and defining horizontally disposed downwardly facing shoulders on the interior thereof, the downwardly facing shoulders being positively seated on the upper edges of the base member with the dome-like cover portion protruding above the same in overlying spaced relation to its open top and defining a conductor receiving chamber disposed above the upper edges of the base member, the roof member further including an extension integrally formed thereon in continuation with its cover and skirt portions and projecting substantially beyond and below the upper edges of the wall portion in overhanging relation to the opening therein, the base and roof members both being entirely formed of nonconductive material and constituting the sole insulation means for the conductor.

2. The service entrance head assembly of claim 1 further including snap-locking connecting means on the wall and skirt portions releasably securing the base and roof members in assembled relation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,079,445 11/ 1913 Smith. 2,148,059 2/ 1939 Dann 17481 2,337,781 12/1943 Stoker l74--81 X 2,648,721 8/ 1953 Wayman 174-82 3,144,506 8/1964 Gunthel 174-92 X FOREIGN PATENTS 63 8,359 6/ 1950 Great Britain.

LARAMIE E. ASKIN, Primary Examiner. 

